Sunday, July 19, 2009

The Twins won their 3rd consecutive game of the year and their 2nd straight win against the Rangers since the break by planning good old Twins ball with good pitching, good defense and timely hits with 3 stolen bases put in. Scott Baker got the start for the Twins and put together probably his finest start of the year for the Twins. Baker went 8 strong innings and only gave up a solo homerun to Nelson Cruz on 6 hits along with 2 walks and an impressive 8 strikeouts to lower his era on the year to 5.10 and improved his record on the year to 8-7. That was an impressive start to the second half for Baker who was in control the whole game. Like Bert Byleven said on the telecast last night it is going to come down to Baker and Liriano to decide if we make the playoffs this year or not. If those guys can be ace's like we know they can be the Twins will be right there at the end battling for a playoffs spot. However, with them both sitting with an era in the 5's that is not good enough and hopefully last night was the start of good things for Baker and tonight maybe Liriano can follow suit. Joe Nathan came on in the ninth and shut the Rangers down for his 25th save in 27 chances and lowered his era to a very good 1.24 which is amazing. Nathan has not given up a run since May 15th which is over 2 months. This will go down as one of the greatest seasons by a closer in Twins history.

The Twins offense did not get a lot going in this game, but just enough to pick up the win as they put up 4 runs on 8 hits. Michael Cuddyer led the offense going 2-4 with his 20th double of the year and his 15th homerun along with his 48th and 49th rbi's to bring his average up to .272. Cuddyer has really rebounded this year after an injury plagued season last year to put up very solid numbers and if he keeps it up he will be back to typical Michael Cuddyer numbers of 20-25 homeruns and 90-100 rbi's which is very good along with his defense. Carlos Gomez continued his recent hot streak as he went 2-4 with his 21st rbi of the year and improved his average up to .247. In his last 5 games is where he has really improved by going 9-15 which is a .600 average with 9 rbi's and 3 runs scored. If Gomez is turning the corner that totally changes the Twins lineup and makes it way more potent. A good Carlos Gomez makes it less necessary to make a deal for a middle infielder that can hit because when he is good Carlos Gomez is such a difference maker. Justin Morneau had a big game going 2-4 with his 71st rbi of the year and improved his average up to .317. Nick Punto went 1-3 with his 5th double of the year. Alexi Casilla also contributed a hit in the winning cause for the Twins last night.

Tonight, the Twins finish off their series with Texas as they try to finish off the sweep as Francisco Liriano gets the ball for the Twins.

Rochester Wrap

Lehigh Valley 7 Rochester 5

Lehigh Valley 6 Rochester 3

The Red Wings had tough afternoon as they were swept in a doubleheader by Lehigh Valley by scores of 7-5 in the first game and 6-3 in the second game. In game 1 Philip Humber got the start and wasn't very good once again. Humber only lasted 3.2 innings and gave up 6 runs on 7 hits along with 2 walks and a strikeout to raise his era on the year to 6.28 and lower his record on the year to 4-7. I really don't know what to do with him because he has been horrible all year and the Red Wings really don't have anyone on the roster that can take his spot. To me the only thing that makes any sense is to give up on him and give him his release and bring someone up from AA to take his spot. Jesse Crain continued his improvment out of the pen for the Wings last night by going 1.1 scoreless innings on 1 hit along with 1 walk and 2 strikeouts to lower his era on the year to 2.87. It is not quite time yet but i would give it 2 to 3 more weeks before we see Jesse Crain back in a Twins uniform if he continues to improve like he is. Juan Morillo then came on and gave up a run on 2 hits along with 2 strikeouts to raise his era to 3.00 on the year. The most important part of his line though yesterday was no walks and that is something you can build on. In game 2 Jason Jones got the start for the Red Wings and he was no better than Humber. Jones went just 4 innings and gave up 6 runs although only 5 of them were earned on 6 hits along with 4 walks and 3 strikeouts to raise his era on the year to 6.60 and lower his record on the year to a pathetic 2-10. I would seriously consider sending Jones either to the bullpen or back down to AA to see if he can get the kinks worked out because it obviously is not working status Quo righ now. Tim Lahey then came on and pitched a shutout 5th inning on 1 hit along with 2 strikeouts to lower his era to 6.52. After a really rough start of the season Lahey has done a solid job in July as his era is 1.29 in 5 games and 7 innings pitched. I am glad the Twins did not give up on Lahey as now he is one of the best pitchers for the Red Wings out of the bullpen. Sean Henn then came on in the 6th and pitched a shutout inning along with a strikeout to lower his era on the year to 1.63.

In game 1 the Red Wings put up some good offensive numbers, but thanks to bad pitching it would not be enough even though they put up 5 runs on 7 hits. Matt Macri led the offense going 2-3 with a run scored to raise his average on the year to .228. Danny Valencia went 1-3 with his 4th homerun of the year and his 15th rbi since coming over to Rochester and improved his average to .378. David Winfree went 1-3 with his 11th homerun of the year and his 44th and 45th rbi's of the year. Brock Peterson went 1-3 with his 10th double of the year and also scored a run. Trevor Plouffe and Matt Tolbert each contributed a hit in the losing cause for the Red Wings. In game 2 the Red Wings were only able to muster 3 runs on 6 hits and it is tough to win a game when you only get 6 hits. Danny Valencia continued his hot streak since coming to the Red Wings by going 2-3 with his 5th homerun and drove in his 16th and 17th runs of the year with the Red Wings to increase his average up to .388. Jose Morales made his return to the Red Wings and went 1-3 with his 5th double of the year and improved his average up to .274. Brock Peterson went 1-2 with his 11th double of the year and improved his average up to .267. David Winfree went 1-3 with his 12th homerun of the year and his 46th rbi which is 2nd to only Justin Huber. Matt Tolbert also added a single in the losing cause for the Red Wings.

Today, the Red Wings continue their series with Lehigh Valley as Reid Santos is scheduled to pitch for Rochester.

New Britain Business

New Britain 11 Reading 3

The Rockcats exploded offensively last night as they won their 3rd straight from Reading to pull within 5 games of first place Connecticut. Deolis Guerra got the start for the Rockcats and was solid in this game. Guerra went 6.1 innings and gave up 3 runs on 4 hits along with 2 walks and 3 strikeouts to lower his era to 5.06 and improved his record since his promotion to 2-0. Guerra has been good in 2 of his 3 starts so his era is misleading because you take that bad start out and he would have a very nice era. I really look for him to have a very good 2nd half with the Rockcats and show the promise that we have all been waiting for out of him. Kyle Waldrop then came on and did an outstanding job out of the bullpen. Waldrop went 2-2 innings and gave up no runs on 2 hits along with a walk to lower his era on the year to 1.69 on the year. Waldrop after missing all of last season because of arm problems has really had nice bouncback season with Fort Myers and now New Britain and has really reestablished himself as a possible bullpen arm for the Twins.

The Rockcat offense really came alive in this one as they put up 11 runs on the board on 14 hits to pick up the win. Brandon Roberts was the hitting star in this game as he went 4-6 with his 14th double of the year to improve his average up to .297. Steve Singelton had another big game for the Rockcats going 3-5 with his 4th double and his 1st rbi as a Rockcat. In 3 games with New Britain Singelton is 9-14 at the plate with 4 doubles which is very very impressive. Toby Gardenhire went 2-4 with his 7th double and 2 rbi's to bring his season total up to 15 and his season average up to .263. Juan Portes went 1-4 with his 5th homerun of the year and drove in his 35th run to increase his average up to .306. Erik Lis went 1-2 with 2 walks and his 12th homerun of the year and 3 rbi's to bring his season total up to 50 and his average up to .321. His power surge is unbelievable as he has hit 6 homeruns in his last 7 games and drove in 12 runs in that span. Rene Tosoni went 1-4 with his 20th double and 53rd rbi of the year. Luke Hughes and Allan De San Miguel each contributed a hit in the winning cause for the Rockcats.

Today, the Rockcats continue their series with Reading as Matt Fox gets the start for New Britain.

Fort Myers Minutes

Dunedin 4 Fort Myers 2

The Miracle lost their 2nd consecutive game last night in a hard fought 4-2 loss to Dunedin as they fell 3 games out of first with the loss. Tyler Robertson got the start for the Miracle and he was ok in this one not great, but also not terrible. Robertson went 7 innings and gave up 4 runs on 4 hits along with a way to many 4 walks and 5 strikeouts to raise his era on the year to 3.95 and dropped his record on the season to 5-6. I don't know if it is because of getting passed over twice for promotions or if he is just in a rut but Tyler has not pitched very good his last couple starts. I truly expect Robertson to bounce back and show the Twins that they made a mistake in passing him up and being the pitcher we all know he can be and will be as he moves through the organization. We all need to keep in mind that he is only 21 years old and he is way young for the FSL and when he starts next season at New Britain he will be way young for that league as well. Joe Testa then came in and was dominant once again as he pitched 2 scoreless innings on 1 hit along with 3 strikeouts. Testa still has not given up an earned run in 12.2 innings of work thus far this year.

The Miracle really could not get anything going against Dunedin pitching as they only got 2 runs on 10 hits. The problem was the Miracle left 9 guys on base or they probably could of won this game. Evan Bigley led the offense going 3-4 at the plate to bring his average up to .260 on the year. Chris Parmalee went 2-4 with his 13th homerun and his 51st and 52nd rbi's of the year to bring his average up to .258. Parmalee is having a pretty good season in Fort Myers where he will probably end up with 20+ homeruns and atleast 80 rbi's which is a very good year at the pitching heavy FSL. Ben Revere went 2-5 at the plate to improve his average up to .308 on the year. Esterlin De Los Santos, Jair Fernandez, and Chris Cates each contributed a hit apiece in the loss last night for the Miracle.

Today, the Miracle continue their series with Dunedin as they will do a bullpen game with Santos Arias scheduled to start for Fort Myers.

Beloit Beat

Dayton 6 Beloit 4

The Snappers had their 3 game winning streak come to an end last night with a tough loss to Dayton by a score of 6-4. Dan Osterbrock got the start for Beloit and did so so in the game. Osterbrock went 6.1 innings and gave up 5 runs although only 4 of them were earned on 7 hits along with 2 walks and 6 strikeouts to raise his era on the year to 5.79 and lowered his record on the year to 4-8. After putting together a good month of June, Osterbrock has really struggled in July. In June Osterbrock put an 2.28 era in 5 starts. However, in July in 3 starts Osterbrock has a 10.93 era so I don't know what the problem is, but he needs to get it going because he has been one of the biggest disappointments in the whole Twins organization after dominating at E-Town last year. Bruce Pugh then came in and gave up a run on 2 hits along with 1 walk and 2 strikeouts in 1.2 innings to raise his era to 4.03 on the season.

The Snapper offense did not get the job done as they put up some solid offensive numbers as they put up 4 runs on 7 hits, but when the pitching struggles like they did the offense needs to pick up the slack and couldn't do that last night. Ramon Santana led the offense going 2-3 with his 19th double and 7th homerun of the year along with 2 rbi's to bring his team leading total up to 51 and improved his average up to .299. Drew Thompson went 2-4 with his 15th rbi of the year and improved his average up to .228. Thompson has really stepped it up as of late going 6-12 with a double and 3 rbi's in his last 3 games. Aaron Hicks went 1-5 at the plate with his 1st homerun as a member of the Snappers and his 13th rbi. Ozzie Lewis and Tyler Ladendorf each contributed hits in the losing cause for the Snappers.

Tonight, the Snappers continue their series with Dayton as Bobby Lanigan gets the start for Beloit.

E-Town Tidbits

E-Town 4 Burlington 3

The E-Town Twins got back on the winning side last night after enduring a tough 2 game losing streak by beating Burlington last night by the score of 4-3. Matire Garcia got the start for the Twins and was ok and the biggest thing was he only walked 1 batter after walking 20 in his first 4 starts. Garcia went 5 innings and gave up 2 runs on 4 hits along with 1 walk and 4 strikeouts to lower his era on the year to 3.74 and improved his record on the season to 3-0. First Round pick Matt Bashore made his debut out of the Twins pen and pitched 2 shutout innings on 3 hits along with 2 strikeouts. With all the innings he pitched for Indiana it would not surprise me if he came out of the bullpen this summer for the Twins to protect his innings and next spring start out in the starting rotation for Beloit. Kyle Carr then came on and pitched 2 good innings to pick up his 4th save of the year and giving up an unearned run on 1 hit along with 2 strikeouts to lower his era on the year to 0.95.

The E-Town Twins offense did not get a lot going, but just enough to pick up the win last night as they scored 4 runs on only 7 hits. Derek Mccallum led the offense by going 2-3 with his 7th double of the year to improve his average up to .275. Brian Dozier went 1-4 with his 4th double and also drove in his 4th run of the year. Tobias Streich went 1-3 with his 5th homerun of the year and his 17th rbi. Jon Goncalves went 1-3 with his 2nd homerun of the year and his 6th rbi. Michael Gonzalez and Reggie Williams each contributed a hit in the winning cause for the Twins.

Tonight, the Twins continue their series with Burlington as Angelo Sanchez is scheduled to pitch for Elizabethton.

In a move that should not be as surpring considering how he has done this year and his age Mike Mccardell has replaced Yohan Pino in the New Britain starting rotation. Mccardell pitched very well at Fort Myers and at 24 years old needed to get up to New Britain and I think he will do very well at New Britain. I look for Tyler Robertson and David Bromberg to join Mccardell next spring with the Rockcats and I expect them to be key contributers for a possible Florida State Leauge Championship. Congratulations to Mike you really deserve the promotion and I am sure you will do with the Rockcats. The question is now who will replace Mccardell in the Fort Myers rotation. They have an in-house canidate in Henry Arias, but to me the most logical choice is Brad Tippett who has dominated Beloit and his 2.43 era begs for a promotion to Fort Myers. They could also consider Dan Osterbrock or Bobby Lanigan, but I think Tippett should be the choice. Everyone let me know your preference.